SkyTrain ridership soars fourfold on Boxing Day at McArthurGlen mall | Daily Hive

SkyTrain station's ridership jumps by 368% due to Boxing Day frenzy at McArthurGlen Vancouver Airport Outlet Mall

Boxing Day 2024 crowds at SkyTrain's Templeton Station. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Fair weather conditions, combined with great deals, drew crowds to major shopping destinations across Metro Vancouver on Boxing Day 2024.

Many of these shoppers opted for public transit, particularly SkyTrain, to reach their destinations.

And this trend was especially evident at SkyTrain’s Templeton Station, which directly serves McArthurGlen Vancouver Airport Outlet Mall.

On December 26, 2024, Templeton Station’s ridership surged by 368% over its Fall 2024 weekday average.

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According to ridership statistics provided by TransLink to Daily Hive Urbanized today, Templeton Station recorded a total of 12,500 boardings on Boxing Day — overwhelmingly higher than its Fall 2024 average of 3,400 per weekday.

On that day, a continuous stream of pedestrians were observed flowing between Templeton Station and the mall’s entrance, a short five-minute walk away.

As well, by the time an inbound train toward Waterfront Station arrived, the platform was already crowded with passengers eagerly waiting to board, with this cycle repeating for the subsequent train arrival throughout most of the day. Normally, this station is quite quaint.

skytrain templeton station canada line mcarthurglen vancouver airport outlet mall boxing day 2024

Boxing Day 2024 crowds at SkyTrain’s Templeton Station. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Continuous stream of pedestrians walking between SkyTrain’s Templeton Station and McArthurGlen Vancouver Airport Outlet Mall on Boxing Day 2024. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

The alternative was enduring bumper-to-bumper gridlock, with traffic congestion stretching along the Vancouver International Airport’s main access road of Grant McConachie Way, spilling onto the Bridgeport side of the Sea Island Way Connector Bridge, and even reaching the Vancouver side of the Arthur Laing Bridge. This has been a common Boxing Day occurrence annually ever since the mall’s opening nearly 10 years ago.

McArthurGlen representatives previously told Daily Hive Urbanized that on an average day, up to one-fifth of visitors to the mall at Sea Island arrive by using SkyTrain.

4.30 pm — Crazy bumper-to-bumper gridlock on the Sea Island Connector Bridge and Arthur Laing Bridge onto Grant McConachie Way toward Vancouver International Airport.

Due to Boxing Day shopping traffic to McArthurGlen Vancouver Airport Outlet Mall. #BoxingDay #YVR 9️⃣ pic.twitter.com/N7PNf2TaUH

— Kenneth Chan (@iamkennethchan) December 27, 2024

Out of six select SkyTrain stations near major shopping destinations, only Metrotown Station saw Boxing Day ridership exceed its Fall 2024 weekday average. Other than Templeton Station, no other station saw an exponential jump in its ridership on Boxing Day, and none of the stations broke any ridership records.

Metrotown Station, which directly serves Metropolis at Metrotown mall, the largest shopping centre in British Columbia, saw 29,000 boardings on Boxing Day, which slightly exceeds its Fall 2024 average weekday boardings of 26,500.

Across the street from CF Richmond Centre mall, Richmond-Brighouse Station recorded 79% or 9,100 of its Fall 2024 average weekday boardings of 11,500.

Two downtown Vancouver stations that are closest to the city centre’s primary shopping destinations also recorded ridership below the Fall 2024 average weekday boardings. Vancouver City Centre Station saw 13,400 boardings on Boxing Day or 89% of its Fall 2024 weekday average of 15,100, while Granville Station saw 14,100 boardings or 73% of its Fall 2024 weekday average.

In fact, on Boxing Day 2024, Templeton Station was nearly as busy as what was recorded at the downtown Vancouver stations of Vancouver City Centre and Granville on the same day. It goes without saying that Templeton Station punched well above its typical weight; in 2023, in terms of annual ridership, both of these stations in downtown Vancouver ranked eighth and fourth, respectively, for boardings, while Templeton Station ranked 37th out of 53 stations on the entire SkyTrain network.

For further comparison, Lincoln Station serving Coquitlam City Centre mall saw 3,000 boardings on Boxing Day 2024, which is below its Fall 2024 weekday average of 3,800.

boxing day 2024 mcarthurglen vancouver airport outlet mall

Boxing Day 2024 crowds at McArthurGlen Vancouver Airport Outlet Mall. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

boxing day 2025 mcarthurglen vancouver airport outlet mall 1

Boxing Day 2024 crowds at McArthurGlen Vancouver Airport Outlet Mall. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

TransLink emphasized the importance of considering the different public transit service levels on Boxing Day, as well as the atypical ridership patterns.

“Boxing Day operates on a modified holiday schedule, which means it does not behave like a typical weekday and has reduced transit service. However, it also behaves differently than other holidays, due to providing higher than typical holiday service because it’s a busy shopping day. For example, some extra trains ran midday to accommodate shoppers that day,” TransLink told Daily Hive Urbanized.

The 2015 opening and subsequent expansions of McArthurGlen Vancouver Airport Outlet Mall has grown Templeton Station’s ridership considerably over the years. Construction could begin soon on the mall’s third and final phase on the northeast corner of the property.

Additionally, ridership has increased since the 2018 opening of Vancouver International Airport’s new Value Long Term Lot on the south side of Templeton Station. This long-term parking lot, with 2,000 vehicle stalls, allows passengers to easily reach the terminal by riding the Canada Line for free within Sea Island, after obtaining a free ticket from the Compass ticket vending machines.

Templeton Station’s ridership is expected to grow with future major industrial developments along the north side of the airport’s North Runway, where industrial businesses will provide free shuttle bus rides for their employees to and from the station. This practice is already in place at the Canada Post processing facility.

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